Chasing less to reach more

Delivery

An exercise in creating every single day

“Success is catalyst for failure.” “The undisciplined pursuit of more.”

It’s almost like you can’t really win when you win.

Greg McKeown on the Harvard Business Review blog recommends purposely pursuing less by using extreme criteria to eliminate what’s not essential to you. You’ve probably heard that before, but then he goes on by encouraging you to quit giving more value to something just because you already have it.

Instead of asking, “How much do I value this item?” we should ask “If I did not own this item, how much would I pay to obtain it?” And the same goes for career opportunities. We shouldn’t ask, “How much do I value this opportunity?” but “If I did not have this opportunity, how much would I be willing to sacrifice in order to obtain it?”

I’ve had a quote from German theologian Frederick Buechner in my desk draw for about 6 years that directly relates to finding that point of what’s absolutely essential to you.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”